About Tezuka and Kikumaru
by Makiko Igami
Summary: Reflections of Fuji about his two best friends. Written when I was in a bad mood to relieve some steam. More a drabble than an actual story.


Title: About Tezuka and Kikumaru  
Rating: G  
Pairings: Oishi/Kikumaru and hinted Tezuka/Fuji  
Spoilers: None I can think of  
Warnings: None  
Summary: Reflections of Fuji about his two best friends. Written when I was in a bad mood to relieve some steam. More a drabble than an actual story.   
Disclaimer: If I owned Prince of Tennis there would be less crack and more boinking. sheepish look

* * *

Fuji Shuusuke did well in just observing people. He liked watching them, figuring them out by the way they moved, they talked and behaved. That's why he liked to watch Tezuka, because the slightly older boy didn't reveal much about himself just because it wasn't his way of being. He simply was and didn't need to bounce around and be loud and flashy like Eiji. In fact Eiji and Tezuka were like two different sides of a coin, one calm and collected, the other a ball of energy always moving and bouncing around.

Fuji wondered why he managed to cope with both of them so well. He admitted he had a few little problems with Oishi, a good friend of both of them, but it wasn't like they didn't get along. They were on friendly terms, Fuji just didn't talk as much to Oishi than he did to Kikumaru. Or Tezuka for that matter, and that meant something since Tezuka hardly talked at all.

No, sometimes he just liked to watch Tezuka and wreck his brain about the other boy's thoughts and motivations but other times he rather listened to Kikumaru bounce from one topic to another. Most of the time he felt like he was on a rollercoaster ride from toothpaste flavors to new shoes, fast food and other things, but it was refreshing, mostly because Fuji managed to shut down his higher brain functions, just what he needed after a long and boring day of school and practice. It was seldom, but even Fuji would admit that he was scheming too much and needed a break from it once in a while.

Also, it was amusing to hear Kikumaru talk about his relationship to Oishi.

The redhead was obviously head over heals for Seigaku's mother hen, and somehow Fuji sensed that this feeling was reciprocated. It amused him to no end though that both of the Golden Pair weren't able to get their senses together and just ask the other out.

Sometimes he even talked with Tezuka about that, or rather to him, receiving only a little nod once in a while that was supposed to indicate that the other listened, but didn't actually had a lot to say about that matter. Of course, he didn't meddle with other's minds as much as Fuji did, but then again, he didn't stop the tensai either. Usually he just sat there, reading or writing something, while Fuji talked and watched him intently with his smile-closed eyes.

In a way, he and Tezuka were most alike, hiding their real selves behind masks, an indifferent one and a smiling one, with abilities that didn't meet the eye when somebody looked at them. They were both calm deep lakes with a monster hidden underneath the surface. And that made them different to Oishi and Kikumaru.

The Golden Pair was open, carried their hearts in their hands and always honest to themselves, while both the Captain and the Tensai had a large spectrum of their personalities, going from easy-to-get-along-with to downright ugly when it came to people they didn't like. Just that Tezuka's methods weren't as cruel as Fuji's, the tensai noted with an amused little smile as he watched Tezuka playing against Kaido.

The snake was scared, it was obvious by the way he hissed, but of course his pride didn't allow him to show it openly. But Fuji could read through him like a book, just like Inui - who by the way was busy scribbling down notes in his book - or so the small brunet suspected.

The match itself was interesting, seeing Kaido's snakes fall into the Tezuka Zone one by one. But that was rather expected. The day Kaido would make Tezuka run around the court was as near as the day on which Echizen would play doubles with Fuji.

Speaking of which, Sumire-chan had assigned Echizen and Momo to play doubles against the Golden Pair. "So that they had another doubles pair when the third years graduated," or so she had put it, receiving glares from both of Fuji's Kouhais. Amusing, really.

More amusing was the fact how the make-shift pair argued over who was supposed to take the ball when it hit the center of the baseline. Their "Ah-Un" tactic worked well, but it wasn't doubles. It was two single players against a doubles pair and... well, Kikumaru and Oishi handled them well. So far they were in lead and Momo and Echizen arguing. That obviously wasn't the appointment of that practice, but at least Momo was evolving as a doubles player. With the right tactic he could become a player like Oishi, who could support another player.

But that wasn't the point of Fuji's observations. The point was the way the Golden Pair moved.

Of course their movements had been smooth since they started playing together, but today they were somewhat off beat, as if they were shaken by something. Involuntarily Fuji's eyes opened so he would have a better look at the pair and was just a little surprised to see them cast embarrassed little glances at the other.

He knew something had been odd when Kikumaru was so unusually silent during classes and he wasn't able to figure it out, but since they still played doubles together, it couldn't have been something strange between them, rather something... extraordinary.

Tezuka won the game, leaving Kaido panting and slightly exhausted while he himself was just sporting a slight sheen of sweat that he wiped of easily with a towel. Fuji suspected that it was only there for the looks most of the time, since Tezuka hardly had to go out fully during practice. With a smile upwards the tensai acknowledged the captain's presence as he continued the doubles game.

Surprisingly it was Tezuka that broke the comfortable silence they usually shared while watching a game. "Oishi told me that Kikumaru stayed over at his place yesterday."

This managed to make Fuji blink and stare up at the tall boy, but then an honest smile spread over his face. "Saa... Seems as if they finally talked about their feelings. Ne, Tezuka?"

He received no answer as Tezuka watched intently how Echizen returned one of Kikumaru's cross shots, turning it into a Drive B. Of course the redhead complained loudly about that, followed by Echizen's trademark "mada mada da ne," but the game went on nevertheless.

Of course the Golden Pair won, but it was close. 7-5 was the count at the end and Oishi was quick to catch his partner, who had some problems to keep standing on his wobbling knees. He touched him more than necessary, making Fuji's smile grow a little warmer.

It was good to deduct the reality out of the facts that you knew and your own intuition, but it was even better to see that your deduction was in fact correct.

"Ne... Tezuka... Can I come over to your house tonight? There are a few things I would like to talk about with you..."

_The End_


End file.
